SpaceX Faces California Labor Lawsuits

Hawthorne, CA In the latest California labor lawsuit to be filed, SpaceX faces allegations that it violated California labor law. Although the company is involved in rocket manufacturing and the space industry, allegations are that the company violated some earthly California labor codes, including laws guaranteeing California employees meal and rest breaks.

According to the Los Angeles Times (8/12/14), lawsuits have been filed against SpaceX alleging the company violated various labor laws. One lawsuit alleges the company violated state law by not providing meal and rest breaks and by forcing employees to work off the clock. The lawsuit alleges employees were not only denied their breaks, they were not paid for those missed breaks.

Court documents filed in the case note that class members regularly worked more than five and 10 hours a day without being given first and/or second uninterrupted meal periods. Employees were also allegedly subject to “…pressure from SpaceX’s management and supervisors to perform work at the expense of their meal and rest periods…” That pressure included denying a “significant number” of employees’ first meal periods and refusal to allow second meal periods on shifts of over 10 hours.

The lawsuit alleges that shift and production schedules did not provide employees with proper opportunities to take their breaks, even though employees did not waive their right to a break. Labor laws require employers in California to provide one 30-minute meal break for non-exempt employees whose shift is more than five hours and a second 30-minute break for shifts of more than 10 hours per day (under certain circumstances, the second 30-minute break can be waived).

“On certain weekend shifts, SpaceX also required Plaintiff and the Class Members to choose between taking a single meal period or receiving two rest periods…” court documents note.

Furthermore, according to the lawsuit, employees were not compensated for time worked, including overtime worked, when their hours were rounded down, which also resulted in inaccurate wage statements.

The lawsuit seeks to represent non-exempt current or former employees, estimated in court documents to be more than 100 individuals.

A different lawsuit filed in August alleges SpaceX illegally laid off hundreds of employees without providing them with proper notice or compensation.

The wage and hour lawsuit is Smith v. Space Exploration Technologies Corp., et al, case number BC554258 in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles.